Too Dark to Plant

I'm a little behind schedule this year. We finally went out last night and bought our annuals for the yard and a few tomato and squash plants. Gary loosened up the dirt and I started the planting tonight. It's now too dark, so I'll have to finish in the morning.

Who would have thought 20 years ago that I would be into gardening? It was the last thing on my mind and the last thing I had any desire to do.

Out in the dirt.
Under the baking sun.
Digging.
Not one of those sounded the least bit enticing.

I can tell you precisely when that all changed.

1994

In the summer of 1993 we did some remodeling. We tore down the screened in patio at the back of the house. The screened in patio filled some good purposes. In the summer, it was nice to have a covered spot to have gatherings. But if it was hot, it was still too hot. In the winter, it was too cold. The biggest problem, though, was that the roof slanted down so that there was no direct light into the kitchen window. In fact, you could never see the sun or sky and very little of the yard. The kitchen was always dark. I still remember the first day it was torn down. I was in amazement. I could look out the kitchen window and see the sun and the sky!

We had decided to add on a room that could be used all the time and would serve as a an extension of the kitchen. Really, the major deciding factor was that Misty and Tiffany were teenagers and were having friends over all the time. So, they and their friends would hang out in the family room. The living room is not private from the family room (and doesn't have a TV) so Gary and I were relegated upstairs to a bedroom. By adding the "sunroom," it gave us another place to gather and also made entertaining much for comfortable. It has made a world of difference in our enjoyment of the house.

I know,

this is a very long explanation
of how I got into gardening.

The remodeling was still going on at the time that my Dad died in September of 1993. In fact, the last picture we have of him at our house is for Misty's birthday on August 22. In the picture you can see the frame of the sunroom in the background. I'll scan a picture in and post it tomorrow.
To make a long story "shorter," when spring came around in 1994 I could see the back yard in its full unkempt glory. I honestly don't ever remember even weeding in the back yard before then. I'm sure I must have, or maybe Gary did, but I honestly just didn't worry about it.

Now, however, it was an extension of the house. A very visible extension of the house, I must say. So, I decided I better do something about it. To my utter amazement, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed experimenting with different flowers and I found the whole process from beginning to end very therapeutic. I think it all came together at just the right time for me.

I honestly knew so little about it, that many times I would have my friend (thank you, Dianne) come over to tell me whether what was sprouting up from the ground was a flower I had planted or a weed that I didn't want. I was also so proud of my "giant" zucchini until I found out that being giant wasn't really an asset with zucchini.

So, I've come a long way. I still have a long way to go. There are times that it does seems like a chore and like just one more thing to do. But, I always enjoy the results.